A Thump in the Night

A Thump in the Night

By

Stacy Leicht

For years, my morning and evening ritual was to pull back my white cotton eyelet drapes and peek out my window in the morning. At times, I would be surprised to see a small fawn standing by its mother or a groundhog perched up on his hand legs gnawing a dandelion in the glistening morning sun. You see, our house was across the street from a pond. It was not huge, nor was it small, but it was just right. Surrounded by gorgeous oak trees that towered over the sides of the pond and two willows that bent down to kiss the water’s edge. It was lovely, like someone had spent a lifetime trying to paint the perfect picture for their fireplace mantle.

Picking up my small binoculars, I could see the pretty ducks paddling their way across the pond while dragonflies swooped down near their heads, whispering sweet tales in their ears.

The harsh knocking at my door startled me and pulled me out of my dreamy land. “It’s time for school my mother yelled.” “Ugh”, I replied. I let the curtains fall back into place knowing I’d be back before long to enter into my beautiful world.

I slung my heavy blue backpack over my shoulder, kissed my mother goodbye, and walked to the bus stop. I wish I liked school more. The idea of school appealed to me, but the classes were boring, and the people were stale and vulgar. I longed to be in a place where other people appreciated nature the way I did. Maybe one day, I dreamed…

I made it through math class and art class before going to Language Arts. I hated reading the “required readings” and wished for more “free choices.” Today’s lecture was to be on legends in literature. The reading today would be on Bigfoot or Sasquatch depending on the geographic area you were from.

Legend said that Bigfoot is from mostly North America and the Western part of the continent where Bigfoot is said to be a seven-foot-tall man/beast covered in hair who scares campers and hikers. The Ojibway of the Northern Plains thought Sasquatch was a messenger of warning, trying to tell men to change their ways. There are entire organizations that study whether Bigfoot or Sasquatch really exists. I have to admit, this was one of the more exciting pieces of reading material we had used in class. Our homework assignment, to debate the existence of Bigfoot bases on research we found at home. We had 24 hours to do as much research as possible and come back to school tomorrow to debate the topic with our classmates. Finally, something I could get into.

After school, I went home and got a snack of Cheetos and brought them up to my room to start my homework. I finished my other subjects quickly because I was actually excited about researching Bigfoot. What type of environment would Bigfoot live in? I pulled back my cotton eyelet drapes to think and pulled up my soft reading chair. I pulled up the window, it was a beautiful spring day outside of 68 degrees and sunny. The birds were chirping, the ducks were back in their spot on the pond, and there was a mother and baby bunny sitting at the edge of the grass nibbling some sweet pieces. As I looked at my favorite place, I began to imagine Bigfoot living there. Would that be an environment he could live in? Would he find water, food, and shelter? I picked up my binoculars and studies the environment with a whole new lens. I saw the pond had a small creek running into it with fresh water, there were some nearby bushes with berries, and a thick line of trees of all shapes and sizes for covering. Yes, I think Bigfoot could live here. I laughed out loud as I talked myself into believing Bigfoot was my new neighbor across the street. I continued to look through the binoculars more closely to see if I could find an exact spot Bigfoot could call home. I made a decision to go over to the pond after dinner.

Dinner was boring meatloaf and mashed potatoes with green beans. I ate my dinner quickly because I couldn’t wait to go over to the pond. I told my parents, I had homework to do that involved going outside to the pond. I know they didn’t believe me and thought I just wanted to go to my favorite place, but they didn’t stop me.

It was starting to get dark by the time I helped clean up after dinner. I put on long pants and a long shirt because “the mosquitoes might take me away” as my mother would say. I grabbed a big flashlight and a small notepad and pen and was off on my adventure. “Don’t be gone long,” my Dad yelled loudly. “Whatever!” I said and closed the door behind me. My parents should know nothing ever happens in this town, and I never do anything exciting. I am seriously the most boring kid in town. I follow all the rules, get good grades, and respect my elders. Case closed.

Seeing my favorite place in the dark is very different. I have it memorized like the back of my hand in the daytime, but everything looks different in the dark. My eyes were trying to get used to the dark when I turned on my flashlight. That was a bit better. I saw the glowing eyes of a few animals in front of me, at first it made me nervous and then I realized it was just the emerald glow of frogs on lilypads hunting for little water bugs on the surface of the water. As I walked around the water’s edge, I heard the distinct sound of tree frogs croaking their spring and summer evening song. It was my favorite time of year.

I heard twigs cracking under my feet and at times I would jump thinking the noise was coming from behind me. Why was I so rattled? As I moved towards the north end of the pond, getting closer to my favorite willow tree, I saw a large shadow. At first, I thought it was a tree. I stopped in my tracks, my heart starting to pound. Was it a tree or a person? I took my large flashlight and directed it towards the large shadow, and it moved. In a split second, I turned on my heels and began running back towards my house. I could see the porch lights on and the kitchen and family room lights on, so I knew my family was home waiting for me. I felt like my legs were dead weights. Why can’t I run any faster than this? I could hear my heart beating in my ear, it was deafening. I turned to look behind me, nothing. I got to the street across from my house and looked back one more time, I thought I saw something, but didn’t linger. Oh crap, there is something there. I kept running until I got in through the front door, then I collapsed on the tile floor.

My mother heard the door fly open and slam against the wall. “Seriously? Why do you have to come in the house like that?” she asked. “Mom, I saw a shadow of something across the street that looked like a man, only bigger. I’m not really sure what it was, but I ran away before it could get me.”

“You do have an active imagination,” mom laughed.

“I am not making this up!” I screamed. “Dad, please go look!”

My Dad was reading the daily newspaper in his leather chair with his reading glasses half way down his nose. There was no way he was getting up.

“Lock the front door if it makes you feel better,” mom said.

“Geez guys, I hope this thing doesn’t come busting through the door tonight,” I yelled.

“Finish your homework, and take a shower and get to bed, it’s getting late.” Mom stated.

“Fine.” I said.

I was still out of breath and worried about what I saw, but maybe my parents were right. I do have an active imagination!

I got ready for bed as told and climbed in still thinking about the shadow. The more I thought about it, the more I began to think of how absurd it really was. I had never seen a large dark figure over by the pond during any of the times I would sit and look at my favorite place. The thought of Bigfoot crossed my mind, now I’m really losing my mind!

I drifted off to bed, but it took me longer than usual. I awoke to a sudden thud. I sat straight upright in bed and looked around wondering if something had fallen off the bed. Nope, nothing. I got up and walked quietly to my door and pulled it open softly to see if someone was in the hallway. It was empty. I chuckled to myself and my active imagination as I turned to go back towards my bed. Thud, thud, thud, I heard it again, but this time louder. Where was this coming from, I wondered? It sounded like someone using their fist on our heavy duty wooden front door. I walked to my window and pulled back my cotton eyelet drapes and peeked just enough to see our front porch. I couldn’t tell if anyone was there. I noticed I was holding my breath, because my chest was feeling a bit tight. My nerves were getting the best of me. Do I go into my parents’ room? No, they would just think I was being silly and laugh at me.

I walked back towards my bed, vowing to not let this noise get in my head. I drifted off to sleep dreaming of Bigfoot sailing on big ships in my favorite pond and becoming Captain of the ship.

I woke up Saturday morning smiling at my ridiculous dream and was determined to go back to the pond to prove myself wrong. I knew I would have to complete my Saturday chores and help with laundry before I could have some free time, so I worked fast.

I found myself preparing for my adventure like I’d be gone for 10 days. I packed a few snacks, added three water bottles to the backpack, sunscreen, bug spray, and this time a camera in case I found my shadow. I put on the same top and pants I had on the night before, after all, they weren’t dirty, and I was off on my adventure.

As I moved towards my favorite place, I began to feel sweat trickle down my brow. It wasn’t even hot yet, so I knew I was nervous. The sweat was a precursor to my heart beating harder, I could hear it again in my eardrum. Why was it so loud? It was hard to hear the birds. As I moved through the tall grass, I walked towards the edge of the pond to look at the water. My favorite mallard ducks were swimming without a care in the world. Their colors seemed bright today in the sun, and the emerald green on the male duck drew me in. I pulled out my camera to take their picture. I steadied my camera, and just as I started to push the button on the camera, the ducks became startled by a noise! It was that thudding noise again. It made me stop in my tracks. I had to make a choice, was I going to run home, or was I going to find out what was making the noise?

I stepped one step closer to the noise. It stopped. Could whoever or whatever was making the noise see me? I looked all around, I couldn’t see anyone or anything. I took another step in that direction. Silence.

I stood there for what seemed like at least a minute, then the thud happened again. I took two steps in that direction this time. I knew I was getting closer. I stopped to rethink my decision. What if it was a Bigfoot or even worse, a serial killer? What if it was a man cutting down a tree to make a fire for his kids to have s’mores? That wouldn’t be bad! I had to know. So, I put one foot in front of another until I came to a clearing.

As the trees opened up, I saw a large figure in front of me. It was shadowy, but also translucent. I wondered if I was looking at a ghost. As I stepped forward, it turned and looked at me. It was an old man, dressed in dated clothes. It looked like he was wearing clothes I’d seen in my history books of men during the Civil War. We stared at one another for a minute, then he went back to banging on something as if he didn’t care if I was there. I took another step forward.

He had a rock he was banging on an old wooden box, trying to break a lock. His frustration was showing. I wondered if he couldn’t open it because he wasn’t alive. I reached for the rock, took it out of his hands, and began hitting the old lock on the box until it broke apart into pieces. He looked at me with thankfulness. He bent forward with his bony hands to pry open the old box, and inside was a brass key. He put the key in his hands, holding it as if it were a lost treasure, and stood up and walked away.

I watched him walk away without knowing what the key was for, but I do know that it was important to him. Maybe it unlocked the door for his afterlife, or maybe it unlocked the door to replay his past. I may never know, but I do know I helped the ghost that day. He had found the key to his happiness!